Gameday Preview: Happy Homecoming for Pitcher Drew Rasmussen; Lineups, Newsy Nuggets

Drew Rasmussen gets the start for Tampa Bay against the Seattle Mariners on Saturday, and it's a happy homecoming for the Spokane, Wash., native. He said he'll have about 40 friends and family members at the game. Here's how to watch, with Rasmussen's story, the lineup, bios and all sorts of news nuggets.

SEATTLE, Wash. — It's very possible that the Tampa Bay Rays will play in front of the largest crowd of the year on Saturday here at T-Mobile Park, and Rays starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen is certainly doing his part for ticket sales.

Rasmussen grew up in Spokane, Wash., and was a Mariners fan growing up. He's got friends and family all over the Seattle area, and said he's expecting about 40 people to be watching the game in person on Saturday night when the Rays take on the Mariners at 9:10 p.m. ET

“It’s a really cool experience to get to come home and play in front of friends, family, a lot of people who have helped me along this journey of getting to where we are today,” he said. “It's super special, and I’m pretty excited for the opportunity.

“We were here last year, but this time we could plan it out a lot better. I think we had about 16 hours notice last year, so this was much easier, but my wife (Stevie), she’s a star. She handled it all. It’s a four-day series, so I knew it was very likely I would throw here. About two weeks ago, we started to map it out, but you know the Rays. You never know.

The T-Mobile Park crowd on Friday night was 26,154, and a larger number is expected Saturday. The largest crowd the Rays have played in front of so far is 27,113 in Chicago against the White Sox on April 16. 

Rasmussen made his debut for the Rays in Seattle on June 19 last summer. He pitched 1 2/3 innings and struck out four of the five batters he faced. He had spent some time in the minors after coming over from Milwaukee in the Willy Adames trade, but stuck around the rest of the year and did well. We was 4-0 with a 2.44 earned run average, appearing in 20 games, 10 of which were starts.

He's been very good so far this year, too, especially in his last two starts. He beat these same Mariners on April 27, pitching six scoreless innings and allowing two hits. He beat Oakland on Monday, allowing just one run and one hit in five innings in a 6-1 win. 

He's hot, and thrilled to be pitching so well, especially with so many people here to watch him on Saturday. But he also has a lot of respect for the Mariners' lineup and knows it won't be easy.

“They’re going to be relatively familiar with me and my stuff and how I like to work,” he said. “But on the flip side, there’s a comfort in knowing that I’ve had success against this lineup already once.

"There are no secrets, and they know what I’m trying to do. I have an idea of what they’re trying to do, so it’s just going to come down to execution.''

Here's how to watch Saturday's game, with gametime and TV information, the starting lineups, bios and, of course, our great daily dose of newsy nuggets.

How to watch Rays at Mariners

• Who: Tampa Bay Rays (17-10) at Seattle Mariners (12-15)
• When: 9:10 p.m. ET, Saturday, May 7
• Where: T-Mobile Park, Seattle, Wash.
• TV: Bally Sports Sun
• Stream: Fubo.tv CLICK HERE
• Announcers: Dewayne Staats (play-by-play), Brian Anderson (color commentary) and Tricia Whitaker (in-game reporter).
• Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM; SiriusXM Channel 89 (Mariners broadcast; Rays online only)
• Announcers: Andy Freed and Dave Wills.
• Latest Line: Tampa Bay is favored at minus-138 on the money line according to the SISportsbook.com website opening line as of Tuesday afternoon. The Mariners  are plus-115. The over/under is 7.5. 

Rays-Mariners history

• Rays vs. Mariners all-time series history: Seattle holds a 108-83 edge in the series dating back to 1998. The Rays are just 42-56 in Seattle, but have won the first two games in this series. Last year, Tampa Bay went 1-6 against Seattle, and lost all four games in the Pacific Northwest. The Rays won two of three games in St. Petersburg last week, so at 4-1 through Friday, they have already won the season series.

Rays-Mariners most recent game

• Rays 8, Mariners 7: Manuel Margot has been hot in May, and his three-run home run in the ninth inning helped give Tampa Bay an 8-7 win over Seattle. Brooks Raley got the final three outs for the Rays, getting his second save in two nights. For the complete game story, CLICK HERE

Projected starting pitchers 

• Rays right-hander Drew. Rasmussen: It's Homecoming Saturday for Rays starter Drew Rasmussen, who grew up in Spokane, Wash., and spent a lot of time at the ballpark in Seattle as a kid, rooting for the Mariners, who were his favorite team growing up. He beat them on April 27 in St. Petersburg, pitching six scoreless innings and allowing just two hits. He great his last start out in Oakland, too, allowing just one run and one hit in five innings in the 6-1 win over the A's. For the season, he's 2-1 with a 3.13 earned run average.
• Mariners left-hander Marco Gonzales: Marco Gonzales started against the Rays a week and change ago, but didn't last long. In the first inning, he was hit in the wrist on a line drive from Harold Ramirez and had to leave the game as a precaution. He was fine, and made his next start last, pitching six innings in a 3-0 loss at Houston on Monday. He is 1-3 on the season with a 4.05 earned run average.

Projected lineups

• Rays lineup: Yandy Diaz 1B, Wander Franco SS, Harold Ramirez DH, Randy Arozarena LF, Brandon Lowe 2B, Manuel Margot CF, Mike Zunino C, Isaac Paredes 3B, Kevin Kiermaier CF, Drew Rasmussen P.
• Mariners lineup: Adam Frazier 2B, Ty France 1B, J.P. Crawford SS, Eugenio Suarez 3B, Jesse Winker LF, Abraham Toro DH, Julio Rodriguez CF, Jarred Kelenic RF, Cal Raleigh C, Mario Gonzales P.

Newsy nuggets

• Nugget No. 1: Rays manager Kevin Cash announced his pitching plans for the rest of the road trip. ''It will be Yarbs of some sort on Sunday, and Springs will start Monday in Anaheim, then Kluber and Mac.'' Translation: Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough will probably start on Sunday, but there still may be an opener ahead of him. Jeffrey Springs, who pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings in the win over Oakland on Tuesday, will start the series opener against the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night, and starters Corey Kluber and Shane McClanahan will pitch on regular rest Tuesday and Wednesday.
• Nugget No. 2: Rays first baseman Ji-Man Choi has made it back to the team. He's been on the injured list with an elbow injury and seems ready to go.  "He's going to work out today and we;'ll see how he feels and we'll make a decision,'' Cash said. He is eligible to come off the list on Sunday. He is hitting .357 on the season with two home runs and 10 RBIs. 
• Nugget No. 3: Rays bullpen coach Stan Boroski and field coordinator Paul Hoover have made it back to the team as well after missing about a week because of COVID issues. Cash's staff is back to full strength now.
• Nugget No. 4: Ralph Garza Jr., has rejoined the team as well, replacing Josh Fleming on the pitching staff. (For the complete story on Fleming's demotion, CLICK HERE) Garza is in Seattle and ready to go. He last pitched on Wednesday in Durham. He got in 12 innings of work down there, and had a 3.00 ERA. ''He did some good things down there,'' Cash said, saying that it's likely he could pitch Saturday, depending on circumstances. "The bullpen, both bullpens, did a lot of work (Friday), so we'll see.''